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Thursday, 27 August 2015

Hope Drone - 'Cloak of Ash' (Album Review)

By Chris Bull

Album Type:
Full Length

Date Released:
24/07/2015

Label:
Relapse Records

'Unending Grey' begins with some subsonic rumbles and distant keys
before the traditional black metal blast and the Deafheaven meets Wolves In The
Throne Room riffs fill the air with ambience. It slows down nicely towards the
end (it's an ambitious 20 minute song) and leaves the notes to ring out and
cling to the ether.

‘Cloak of Ash’
CD//DD//LP track listing:

1.
Unending Grey
2. Riverbeds Hewn In Marrow
3. The World Inherited
4. The Chords That Thrum Beneath The Earth
5. Every End Is Fated In Its Beginning
6. He Waves Forever Shatter Upon Our Shores
7. Carried Apart By The Ceaseless Tides

Relapse
are certainly surprising people with recent releases, this time they've plucked
Brisbane Australia's Hope Drone from obscurity to much aplomb. I
had heard nothing of this band before 'Cloak
Of Ash', suddenly they're the next big thing, let's see shall we?

'Unending Grey'
begins with some subsonic rumbles and distant keys before the traditional black
metal blast and the Deafheaven meets Wolves In The Throne Room riffs
fill the air with ambience. It slows down nicely towards the end (it's an
ambitious 20 minute song) and leaves the notes to ring out and cling to the
ether. 'Riverbeds Hewn In Marrow' is
very similar, I'll avoid the obvious reference to Altar Of Plagues...Damn, it got
me! The song speeds during its finality and bleeds straight into 'The World Inherited' and blasts away
while retaining the vast atmosphere. Again, it slows down to let everything
breathe for several minutes. 'The Chords
That Thrum Beneath The Earth' follows with some atmospheric guitar building
up to the inevitable blasts. There's some interesting melodies to be heard, the
guitars are a key element in this band. 50 minutes have passed and there are 3
songs remaining...strap in, you're here for the long haul! 'Every End Is Fated in its Beginning' builds with a hulking slow
riff before some more following of the Altar
Of Plagues blueprint. 'The Waves
Forever Crash Upon Our Shores' and 'Carried
Apart By The Ceaseless Tides' bring the album to an end, the former lasting
a brief (by comparison) six and a half minutes and the latter 9 minutes which
goes fast part, slow part, fast part, fade out much like every other song on
this album.

I'm
not saying this is a bad album, far from it! It's damn good. I personally think
it is way too long, 4 tracks would have been plenty. Also there's the hype;
"they're one Relapse, that automatically means they're awesome" when
in reality, there are albums that have been released this year that are way
more deserving of praise than this. This will probably make several end of year
lists in the metal press, and fair play, it should be in the top 50, but as
Chuck D and Co once said, 'Don't believe the Hype'.

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